100 Books!

Today is Publication Day for my latest You Choose books — You Choose 9: Extreme Machine Challenge and You Choose 10: In the Realm of Dragons.

In the Realm of Dragons is officially my 100th published book. I cannot describe just how excited I am by this. It is definitely cause for celebration. So in addition to the usual Publication Day cake with which I mark the occasion of a newly released book (made a New York Baked Cheesecake), today I also have a special bottle of Champagne.

A good bottle of Champagne is best shared. And who better to share it with than family. My wife Kerri has been instrumental in my writing career. She has read and commented on each of those 100 books (as well as those that never saw the light of day) – proof read, made insightful suggestions and saved me from some pretty embarrassing mistakes. My parents have encouraged and supported my writing career every step of the way, and always told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be.

Cheers!

The grand total of books is in great part due to my writing for the education market. Of my 100 books, 82 are educational publications: school readers, non-fiction books and fiction tied to the Australian curriculum. These books are not generally found in bookstores, as they are marketed directly to schools and libraries. People rarely take notice of the individual authors, as they tend to be published as sets, with multiple authors working on any one series. You certainly don’t get famous by writing for the education market. But these books are so important to young readers, helping them to learn and practice their reading, introducing them to new ideas and concepts, taking what they are learning in the classroom and putting it into a wider context. I am very proud of my contribution to this area of publishing.

And I am elated at hitting 100 books.

There are, of course, more books on the way. So here’s to the next 100!